Ancient Athens

We're onto our second week now and have moved from Bella Italia to Ancient Athens!

Emailing and blogging haven't been a major priority as you may have guessed in the last week but now that we've found our feet here we can spare a few moments to fill in the gaps!



Florence was a truly beautiful city and one that I would definately recommend to anyone, though be prepared to open your wallet as it can be expensive! It's also a good base for making excursions into the rest of Tuscany should you be so inclined. We went to Siena for the day and San Gimignano both places were really interesting and steeped in history. We enjoyed the trip. We also went to Pisa which was a bit of a swizz to be honest but the bus journey through the Tuscan countryside was well worth it. And we saw the famous Leaning Tower!

We're now currently in Athens. Compared to Italy, Greece seems less sophistacated, and also less expensive. But that doesn't mean it doesn't have it's charms! The food here is just gorgeous and good for you! I'm loving it!

Also the archaeology is astounding and it's awe inspiring to be able to stand before these iconic buildings that for me have only ever before existed in between the cover of books. I feel so lucky.

From Milan to Florence and back again

We're currently in the beautiful Medieval city of Florence and it's all I've ever dreamed it would be!

We spent our first night in Milan and had a blast wandering the streets of the city and enjoying the many outdoor art installations on show through out the Sforza castle grounds and on the streets of Milan itself.



We're currently in Florence and it's truly a beautiful place, with so much to see and do here it would make your head spin. We travelled to Fiseole today and wandered around the Roman ruins there, ate icecream and generally chilled out.

We plan to head to Pisa and Siena as well over the next few days so you could say that things are going well1

On the road... again

Right we're off again!

Here is a map of the first part of our Journey!



The rest will be updated as we go along. I'm not prepared to tempt fate any further...

Further preparation

Things are hotting up nicely on the preparation front!

We now have all three visas for Russia, China and Mongolia. Despite my nervousness about applying for them it was a pain free experience all round.

My three top tips for applying for visas in Russia and China if you are living in Ireland are as follows:

1) Turn up early, especially if you want to collect them on the same day. The sooner you're in there the sooner you get out.

2)Read the instructions carefully!
If you're going for Russian visas you need a voucher in Russian and an invitation. You also should duplicate the applications and bring the duplicate with you when you travel as having a visa doesn't guarantee entry into the country. Don't do what these arrogant middle aged women did when I was there. It's not clever or funny to turn up with nothing but a cheque book.

3)Smile! It cheers everyone if you're pleasant and respectful, you are on their territory after all!

I'm getting very excited now!